Japan Display

'Japan Display' Articles

While the rumored 6.1-inch iPhone isn't expected to feature an OLED display like the iPhone X, the device will still have a more advanced LCD display than previous iPhones, according to Taiwan's Commercial Times.
Japan Display's Full Active LCD
The report, translated from Chinese, claims Apple will be adopting Japan Display's so-called "Full Active" LCD technology. Unlike traditional LCDs, like those of the iPhone 8 and iPhone 8 Plus, Full Active LCDs only require ultra-slim 0.5mm bezels on all four sides, even smaller than those on the iPhone X.
Japan Display says its Full Active LCDs are six-inch displays with a resolution of 2,160×1,080 pixels. Accordingly, the panels have an 18:9 aspect ratio, meaning their length is double their width.
This suggests the 6.1-inch iPhone will have a taller display, likely with a cutout for the TrueDepth camera system, although not quite as tall as the iPhone X with its unique 19.5:9 aspect ratio. The device is already rumored to resemble the iPhone X's nearly full-screen design, so this would make sense.
A 6.1-inch display with a resolution of 2,160×1,080 pixels would have around 395 pixels per inch. KGI Securities Ming-Chi Kuo said the 6.1-inch iPhone's display will have 320-330 PPI, however, so there's conflicting information.
This rumor is consistent with a report from The Wall Street Journal in September, which said Apple was considering using Japan Display's advanced LCD panels in some 2018 iPhone models. Full Active LCDs have already been used by some Chinese smartphone makers, including Xiaomi for its Mi Mix 2.

More OLED panel makers are gearing up to compete with Samsung and LG for orders from Apple as soon as this year, according to industry sources (via DigiTimes).
Thanks to its existing production capability, Samsung was the sole supplier of OLED display panels for Apple's iPhone X in 2017, which left LG Display under pressure from Apple and scrambling to invest billions in its OLED manufacturing facilities in time to compete for the next round of orders.
That investment appears to be paying off already, with LG Display reportedly in line to supply some OLED panels to this year's new range of iPhones, which is expected to include two new 5.8-inch and 6.5-inch iPhone models with OLED displays. LG Display will supply Apple with the 6.5-inch OLED panels, while Samsung will supply the 5.8-inch panels, according to one report.
Other suppliers now said to be jostling for third and fourth position in the OLED pecking order include Sharp, now a Foxconn Electronics company, and Japan Display (JDI). Both companies are preparing to churn out OLED screens as early as the second quarter of 2018, according to sources, citing Japan-based media reports. Sharp also aims to mount the flexible OLED screens on some of its own premium smartphone models set to launch in 2018, the sources added.
In stark contrast with the state of play early last year, the accelerating trend of Asian suppliers investing in OLED production facilities will "definitely" lead to an excess supply of the panels in the coming years, according to DigiTimes' sources.China currently has a total of 13 fabs

Apple has expressed interest in buying advanced liquid crystal display (LCD) panels from Japan Display for use in some of its iPhones next year, according to a new report today from The Wall Street Journal.
Earlier this month, Apple announced the iPhone X, its first smartphone to adopt OLED screen technology. OLED displays offer sharper contrast and brighter colors than traditional LCD panels, but cost and supply issues are an ongoing concern for Apple, and are likely to slow down any full transition to the technology.
However, Japan Display's advanced LCD panels, which it calls Full Active LCDs, are said to match or exceed some of OLED's advantages at a lower cost, and Apple is interested in procuring them for use in at least some iPhones set to debut in its 2018 smartphone line-up, according to people familiar with the matter.
In Full Active panels, the bezel or border space around each edge of the screen has been trimmed to 0.5 millimeters, the Japanese maker says, compared with as much as several millimeters on older LCDs. Current OLED smartphone panels have a bezel of about one millimeter, which makes them easier to be curved or angled. The Full Active panel has already been used by several Chinese mobile makers, including Xiaomi for its Mi Mix 2 phone, according to Kazutaka Nagaoka, chief of Japan Display's mobile unit.
News about Japan Display's advanced LCD panels first emerged in January of this year, when they were referred to simply as "flexible LCDs". The panels were said to be bendable enough to manufacture smartphones with the same screen

Last month, Apple supplier Japan Display reportedly asked local banks and its own shareholders for around $897 million to fund part of an "extensive" restructuring effort of its business, which would see the supplier's manufacturing output shift from LCD to OLED panels. Now, the company is said to be seeking an outside partner to help pay part of the funds (via Nikkei).
Japan Display is facing a troubled time due to its speciality of making LCD displays in an era when companies are slowly shifting to OLED-only smartphones, including its main customer Apple, so the restructuring money will go towards installing OLED panel lines at some of its plants.
A recent concept of the 2017 OLED iPhone 8 via Max Rudberg
Japan Display is looking at investors both locally and abroad, who could both "shore up its shaky financial base" as well as help out with running manufacturing operations in the shift from LCD to OLED production. Its decision on an outside partner is said to be planned for "as soon as next year."
Smartphone makers including Apple, its largest customer, are increasingly turning away from LCDs and toward state-of-the-art organic light-emitting diode displays, where the Japanese company lags far behind South Korean rivals.
JDI, as the company is also known, has drawn up plans for extensive revamping in response, and is on the hunt for investors at home or abroad that can help shore up its shaky financial base and lend a hand in running operations. Japan Display will begin with a cut back on LCD production as well as laying off "more than 3,500 workers" at

Loss-making LCD manufacturer Japan Display has reportedly asked banks and its largest shareholder for around 100 billion yen, or roughly $897 million, to fund restructuring efforts, according to Nikkei Asian Review and Reuters.
The Tokyo-based manufacturer of liquid crystal display panels, also known as JDI, requested the loan from lenders including Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Innovation Network Corp. of Japan, the government-backed fund that is Japan Display's largest shareholder, will provide indirect support in the form of loan guarantees.The capital raised will help Japan Display's turnaround efforts, which reportedly may involve halting production and trimming staff at smartphone panel plants in the central Japanese city of Nomi and China's Jiangsu Province.
Japan Display, formed in 2012 when the LCD divisions of Hitachi, Sony, and Toshiba merged, has lost money for a third consecutive year, reportedly due to problems getting smartphone panel production up to speed. The company also faces increased competition from South Korean and Chinese rivals.
Japan Display is also threatened by the increasing adoption of OLED displays in smartphones, which it doesn't produce. Samsung is currently the only company that can reliably manufacture OLED displays for smartphones, with LG and Foxconn aiming to begin mass production over the next few years.
Apple, which has long been Japan Display's biggest customer, is widely rumored to release its first iPhone with an OLED display in the coming months. At least two new iPhone models are expected to continue

iPhone supplier Japan Display has come up with a plan to battle the increasing popularity of organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel manufacturing, without needing to delve into the costly practice of creating OLED panels itself. According to a new report by The Wall Street Journal, the supplier has figured out a way to manufacture flexible liquid crystal display (LCD) panels using technology and processes it already has at its disposal.
Set to begin mass production in 2018, Japan Display's flexible LCD panels are said to be built with a layer of plastic instead of glass. "While not as flexible as OLED," the company's chief operating officer, Shuji Aruga, mentioned that the panels are bendable enough to manufacture smartphones with the same screen design as Samsung's Galaxy Edge series.
According to people familiar with the matter, Apple has already begun looking at the flexible LCD panels for iPhone models launching in 2018 and beyond.
Japan Display officials said some smartphone makers, which they declined to name, have agreed to adopt the bendable LCD in the next few years. The company also hopes to sell the displays for other uses such as laptop computers and car dashboards.
“Mass production is planned from 2018, and we wouldn’t do that without demand from our clients,” said Mr. Aruga. Japan Display’s major clients, according to its financial statements, include Apple and Huawei Technologies Co.
Bendable displays could help revive growth in a smartphone market that is beginning to get saturated. People familiar with the matter have said Apple

iPhone display supplier Japan Display is in "advanced talks" with the government-backed fund Innovation Network Corp. of Japan to receive around ¥75 billion ($703 million) in financing, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The bailout deal could help Japan Display improve its LCD display technology to better compete against OLED displays, while the investment could also go towards trying to set up its own manufacturing lines for mass-producing OLED displays.
Apple is widely expected to launch at least one new iPhone with an OLED display next year, with rumors pointing towards a curved 5.5-inch-or-larger model with glass casing. Japan Display's domestic rival Sharp recently said it is building a new OLED facility in Japan to manufacture the displays for a "key customer," while Samsung and LG Display are reportedly in the mix as well.
OLED displays typically have sharper color contrast and brighter colors compared to LCD displays, while the technology allows for flexible, curved designs. OLED panels also typically have faster response times and better viewing angles compared to LCD technology, with the option for an always-on mode. Samsung smartphones have used AMOLED displays, based on OLED technology, for years.
Rumors suggest Apple will release at least two traditional 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch iPhone models with LCD displays next year, as it has used since the original iPhone in 2007, so Japan Display may still have time to ramp up its OLED efforts.
INCJ already owns a controlling 36% stake in Japan Display, a joint venture formed in 2012 by the display

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